Several retreating Northeast citygates failed to join rebounds from weekend weakness in the rest of the cash market Monday. In addition to prior-trading day support from Friday’s 16.4-cent rally by December futures and the return of industrial load from weekend hiatus, heating demand was picking up again in the Midwest and South after brief warming trends going into the weekend.

A large majority of points ranged from flat to up about 85 cents, with the Rockies and Midcontinent having the lion’s share of the biggest gains. Although Northeast deliveries recorded losses of 15-25 cents or so, Dominion and Columbia Gas in the Appalachian producing area had solid double-digit gains.

Tuesday’s cash trading will have even greater screen backing after the December contract expired with a 40.8-cent spike based on cold forecasts and short-covering (see related story). Due to Dec. 1 falling on a Monday, spot gas deals done Tuesday will be for Wednesday-through-Sunday flows; gas will be traded for next Monday deliveries only on Wednesday.

The Midwest was warming up slightly during the weekend, but a reversal began Monday that would continue Tuesday and take lows in most of the region to the teens and 20s. A similar change of temperature movement was under way in the South, and that region, while not due to become as frigid as in the Midwest, still could expect freezing lows at many locations east of the Mississippi River.

The Northeast price weakness was partly because although Tuesday’s lows will be in the 30s, few outside the northern end of New England are expected to be below freezing.

The western weather picture was pretty diverse, with a cold front from the Pacific Ocean forecast to bring showery conditions to the Pacific Northwest, with highs in the mid and upper 20s due in the Cascades mountain range and Glacier National Park, according to The Weather Channel (TWC). However, the Yuma, AZ, area could anticipate basking in the low 80s Tuesday, TWC said.

Some traders likely took note Monday morning when the National Hurricane Center said a broad low-pressure area over the southwestern Caribbean Sea and adjacent land areas had medium potential for developing into a tropical depression during the next day or two if the system remained over water. However, that afternoon the agency had downgraded development potential to low.

PG&E lifted a systemwide high-inventory OFO Sunday, and the PG&E citygate and Malin were able to rally by about a quarter each.

A marketer in the Upper Midwest said peak temperatures in her region will remain limited to the 30s through Thanksgiving weekend, but at least snowfall should be stopping later this week. She reported buying December baseload at last-day settlement basis of plus 28 cents for Consumers Energy and plus 27 cents for MichCon.

A producer who trades the California market said her company wrapped up bidweek business Monday, but declined to make an estimate on where the Southern California border index will be.

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